Portrait images are a popular type of photograph/image taken by both professional photographers and amateur photographers. These portrait images typically show a head and shoulder portrait of one or more individuals. For example, portrait images are popular for school year books and graduation pictures. These photographs are displayed in many locations—including at home and at the office—and can generate emotional memories such as a happy memory. Yet, the photograph is a still image, so is therefore a static presentation of the subject. In some situations, the viewer may wish that the subject of the photograph not be static, that is, that the subject move or change so that the viewer sees different images of the subject so as to make the subject “come alive”.
Accordingly, a need exists for a method of generating and displaying a non-static portrait image from a static portrait image. That is, a “living portrait”. Such a living portrait can provide personality and expression to the subject of the portrait to make the subject “come alive” for the viewer in response to a physical/external stimulus.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,367,454 (Kawamoto) relates to an interactive man-machine interface for simulating human emotions. More particularly, Kawamoto relates to an emotion emulator for producing pseudo-emotions of an artificial agent in an interactive input/output system so as to make the agent behave more like a human and realize natural interaction. Kawamoto senses an emotional state of the user, which is then reacted to by the machine. As such, Kawamoto is directed to an interaction, and Kawamoto is not directed to a method responsive to a physical stimulus.
The present invention provides a method for generating a living portrait, such that the portrait is not a static representation of a subject. The living portrait can react or be responsive to a physical stimulus.